The Effect of Animations Using Real-world Analogies on Diverse Computer Systems Students

Abstract

It is a challenge to engage students when teaching them abstract and complex computer systems concepts, such as buffer overflow, memory management, concurrent execution, and process synchronization. Past research has shown that interactive animation and real-life analogies make STEM concepts more approachable and help students achieve better learning outcomes. Based on these findings, we introduce interactive analogies into learning the concept of buffer overflow. More specifically, we created a dry-cleaning shop animation tool (https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/571317697/) targeting K-12 and undergraduate students. To assess the effectiveness of our tool, we are in the process of conducting a user study, in which students use our animation tool to learn about buffer overflow and take pre- and post-assessment on the concept. Our goal is to make CS learning more accessible to diverse students, regardless of their background and age.